In today\u2019s Steady Investor, we break down the forces shaping the market right now and highlight what investors should be watching next, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stock Buybacks are on the Rise, a Bullish Tailwind \u2013 <\/strong>U.S. companies are repurchasing their own shares at a record pace, with announced buybacks totaling $983.6 billion so far this year. That\u2019s the highest tally to start a year on record. If the trend continues, 2025 could mark an all-time high for annual buybacks, surpassing $1.1 trillion.In July alone, companies announced $165.6 billion in new repurchases, which was nearly double the prior July record set in 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Flush corporate balance sheets, strong earnings, and tax advantages have helped drive the surge. At the same time, business investment has slowed amid tariff uncertainty, prompting some firms to prioritize share repurchases as a more immediate use of capital. Buybacks are often seen as a shareholder-friendly move, reducing share count and boosting earnings per share. But they are not always a good use of cash. Repurchasing stock at elevated valuations can be inefficient, and oftentimes, funds might be better directed toward long-term investments such as R&D or manufacturing expansion. Nevertheless, momentum is clearly strong, and with corporate cash still plentiful and policy uncertainty lingering, companies appear poised to keep returning capital to shareholders in the months ahead.1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Protect Your Retirement from Market Shocks<\/a><\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Markets are sending mixed signals, from record corporate buybacks and steady credit ratings to ongoing Fed debates over interest rates. Volatility can surface quickly, testing even the strongest retirement plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With a clear strategy, you can navigate uncertainty, sidestep costly errors, and keep your retirement savings compounding for the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To stay prepared, download our free guide, How Solid Is Your Retirement Strategy?<\/u><\/em><\/a><\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup>, to learn:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have $500,000 or more to invest, get our free guide by clicking on the link below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get our FREE guide: How Solid Is Your Retirement Strategy?<\/u><\/a><\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n S&P Global Holds U.S. Credit Rating Steady, Citing Tariff Revenue \u2013 <\/strong>S&P Global reaffirmed the U.S. government’s AA+ credit rating this week, saying it expects revenue from the Trump administration\u2019s sweeping tariff program to “generally offset” a decline in revenue from the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The ratings agency also maintained its A-1+ short-term rating and kept its overall outlook \u201cstable.\u201dS&P\u2019s rationale was that the rise in effective tariff rates would help counterbalance the estimated $3.4 trillion increase in the deficit over the next decade caused by the OBBBA, which reduced both tax revenues and federal spending. The Treasury Department reported nearly $21 billion in customs duty collections in July, lending some surface-level support to S&P\u2019s argument.But a closer look raises a few questions. For one, even with higher tariff revenues, the deficit continues to grow, nearly 20% higher in July year-over-year, according to the Treasury. Meanwhile, the CBO has projected the fiscal gap to continue widening well beyond what tariff revenues are likely to cover.While S&P\u2019s analysis helps illustrate how institutional views are evolving around the Trump administration\u2019s economic policy, it also reflects a degree of optimism that may be out of sync with broader market realities. Robust growth, not tariffs, is what ultimately keeps deficits sustainable.3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fed Chair Jerome Powell Opens the Door for a September Rate Cut \u2013 <\/strong>The ongoing drama over rate cuts may be on the verge of simmering down. Speaking at the Kansas City Fed\u2019s annual Jackson Hole symposium, Chairman Powell said the Fed\u2019s current policy stance may no longer be appropriate as risks to the employment outlook rise. In other words, the Fed may not need to hold the benchmark fed funds rate at 4.25% to 4.5% much longer. In framing his thinking, Powell focused on emerging weakness in the labor market, which he described as experiencing a \u201ccurious kind of balance\u201d with slowing supply and demand for workers. Powell seemed to indicate that the labor market was more fragile than previously thought, which could quickly tip it into a cycle of higher layoffs and unemployment if conditions deteriorate further. While Powell acknowledged that inflation remains above the Fed\u2019s 2% target, he seemed to come around to the argument that tariffs may not cause a sustained inflation problem. Markets welcomed Powell\u2019s remarks, interpreting them as validation for growing expectations of a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed\u2019s next meeting.4<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n How Solid is Your Retirement Strategy? <\/strong>Market ups and downs are inevitable, but your retirement doesn\u2019t have to suffer. The key is a strategy designed to weather uncertainty and keep your savings on course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Download our free guide, How Solid Is Your Retirement Strategy?<\/u><\/em><\/a><\/strong>5<\/a><\/sup>, for practical insights to help safeguard your wealth and stay on track, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have $500,000 or more to invest, get our free guide today!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Record pace of U.S. corporate stock buybacks seen as bullish, S&P Global sees tariffs offsetting deficit risks, Fed holds rates steady but may be poised for cut in September.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-private-client-group","category-steady-investors-week"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13896"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13898,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13896\/revisions\/13898"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zacksim.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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